This article discusses the armorial inscriptions on Shang and Zhou dynasty bronze vessels according to seven aspects: the name, character, definition, and connotation of armorial inscriptions, the study of composite armorial inscriptions, and the archaeology and historical research of armorial inscriptions. I summarize one thousand years of the study of armorial inscriptions, and then analyze some particular points of debate in the field. This article also proposes directions for future research on the armorial inscriptions on Shang and Zhou dynasties bronze vessels.